Nearly every (good) video game ever made has a final stage to it that is supposed to test the gamer, force him or her to use everything they've learned to beat a level like none they have ever played. Whether it's running through Bowser's last castle or fighting Shao Khan, all the greatest video games have given us memorable final levels that will stick with us forever.
So what are you favorite final levels in video game history? Or even your favorite boss battles from earlier in the game?
Also, for the sake of spoilers, tell us what game you plan on talking about, but keep the descriptions in spoilers.
Here are some of mine.
Pokemon Red & Blue
Mass Effect 3
Golden Sun
So what are you favorite final levels in video game history? Or even your favorite boss battles from earlier in the game?
Also, for the sake of spoilers, tell us what game you plan on talking about, but keep the descriptions in spoilers.
Here are some of mine.
Pokemon Red & Blue
The Elite 4 and Gary Oak
The Elite 4 has come back in many shapes and many forms, and over the years the system has changed. However in the original Pokemon Games, the Elite 4 was a battle like you've never seen before. You had to beat 4 of the hardest trainers in the game without being able to run to the Pokemon center and heal your Pokemon. The task was daunting for certain, but you met it head on and charged your way through to Lance, the first person in the game to use dragon Pokemon. Suddenly, your Charizard's falmethrower doesn't work so well, but you persevere and manage to overcome Lance!
You are elated, winning what was most likely the most challenging battle in the game... until Lance tells you there's already a Champion. Somehow, your rival has already beaten the Elite 4, and now it's come down to one last battle to determine the true Champion of the Elite 4. Fortunately, you've done this battle half a dozen times before, and you've already gotten yourself a Pikachu that can take care of his Blastoise, and the rest of Gary's team is no match for you. You beat him, and you become the Pokemon Master.
The Elite 4 is special for many gamers because it was one of the first true challenges for us, and it came with a really cool name. Pokemon was the first game many of us between the ages of 18 and 25 became true fans of, and the Elite 4 will always be remembered as our first true test as Pokemon trainers.
The Elite 4 has come back in many shapes and many forms, and over the years the system has changed. However in the original Pokemon Games, the Elite 4 was a battle like you've never seen before. You had to beat 4 of the hardest trainers in the game without being able to run to the Pokemon center and heal your Pokemon. The task was daunting for certain, but you met it head on and charged your way through to Lance, the first person in the game to use dragon Pokemon. Suddenly, your Charizard's falmethrower doesn't work so well, but you persevere and manage to overcome Lance!
You are elated, winning what was most likely the most challenging battle in the game... until Lance tells you there's already a Champion. Somehow, your rival has already beaten the Elite 4, and now it's come down to one last battle to determine the true Champion of the Elite 4. Fortunately, you've done this battle half a dozen times before, and you've already gotten yourself a Pikachu that can take care of his Blastoise, and the rest of Gary's team is no match for you. You beat him, and you become the Pokemon Master.
The Elite 4 is special for many gamers because it was one of the first true challenges for us, and it came with a really cool name. Pokemon was the first game many of us between the ages of 18 and 25 became true fans of, and the Elite 4 will always be remembered as our first true test as Pokemon trainers.
Mass Effect 3
The Battle for Earth
The whole Mass Effect Trilogy comes to this moment: John Shepard and the Normandy crew come back to take Earth. All the soldiers you've recruited from Turrian to Krogan and Geth to Quarian are by your side, as they know if they don't take back the Citadel, the Reapers will be victorious.
Shepard side skirts the main fighting to take down a shield and then enter the Citadel, but it sure doesn't feel like he's avoiding major battles. The Reapers send their best units to take down Shepard and the two partners he trusted most, and after fighting through multiple waves of Brutes, Banshees, Cannibals, Marauders, and Ravagers, you finally make it to the Citadel. It's a long run to the entry point, and you're badly injured, but against all odds you make it inside. It is there that you and Captain Anderson are able to defeat the The Illusive Man and activate the Catalyst. But nothing happens...
Of course, if you've played Mass Effect you know that you have a choice to make, and this is where the controversy comes from. Were the endings for ME3 good? I thought they were as good as they could be, but it doesn't really matter. The whole mission was so grueling, so emotional that knowing that Shepard is able to bring the war with the Reapers to an end is such a relief. It's an amazing mission, and it actually has all the grandness you'd expect from the finale of Shepard's story.
The whole Mass Effect Trilogy comes to this moment: John Shepard and the Normandy crew come back to take Earth. All the soldiers you've recruited from Turrian to Krogan and Geth to Quarian are by your side, as they know if they don't take back the Citadel, the Reapers will be victorious.
Shepard side skirts the main fighting to take down a shield and then enter the Citadel, but it sure doesn't feel like he's avoiding major battles. The Reapers send their best units to take down Shepard and the two partners he trusted most, and after fighting through multiple waves of Brutes, Banshees, Cannibals, Marauders, and Ravagers, you finally make it to the Citadel. It's a long run to the entry point, and you're badly injured, but against all odds you make it inside. It is there that you and Captain Anderson are able to defeat the The Illusive Man and activate the Catalyst. But nothing happens...
Of course, if you've played Mass Effect you know that you have a choice to make, and this is where the controversy comes from. Were the endings for ME3 good? I thought they were as good as they could be, but it doesn't really matter. The whole mission was so grueling, so emotional that knowing that Shepard is able to bring the war with the Reapers to an end is such a relief. It's an amazing mission, and it actually has all the grandness you'd expect from the finale of Shepard's story.
Golden Sun
Saturos and Menardi
You know from the very beginning of the game that these are the two people that will be the biggest bitch by the end of the game. They think they're saving the world, but they're not (Or maybe they are? They seem pretty convinced, and all you have to go on is the word of an old guy, but who knows if he's reliable? Anyways...), and you KNOW that you're going to be the poor bastards that have to stop them. Hopefully you ate your wheaties and doubled back a few times to level all the way up, because Saturos and Menardi are not going down easily.
The first time I faced them it wasn't even close. The second time I faced them wasn't much better. This is a game where you actually need to employ strategy. The same tricks you used to defeat the last dozen bosses won't work here, and you have to be prepared for this battle.
With the proper strategies employed, S&M isn't so bad (pun intended), but after your first victory comes a second battle as the two merge into a two headed-dragon that will prove to be even more difficult than Saturos and Menardi's original forms. And to make matters worse, you had no time to heal after the last battle. That means you better have a healthy healer that can heal everyone at once, because otherwise you're gonna be starting all over.
Beating Saturos and Menardi and then Fusion Dragon is an endurance test, and with no chance to heal or save, it's one that can be very disappointing if not pulled off the first few times. But it is a good frustration, not a bad one. Fusion Dragon is beatable, and upon beating him you're rewarded with a (relatively) happy ending and the promise for another adventure. It's a battle that will test you, and an ending that will befit that test.
You know from the very beginning of the game that these are the two people that will be the biggest bitch by the end of the game. They think they're saving the world, but they're not (Or maybe they are? They seem pretty convinced, and all you have to go on is the word of an old guy, but who knows if he's reliable? Anyways...), and you KNOW that you're going to be the poor bastards that have to stop them. Hopefully you ate your wheaties and doubled back a few times to level all the way up, because Saturos and Menardi are not going down easily.
The first time I faced them it wasn't even close. The second time I faced them wasn't much better. This is a game where you actually need to employ strategy. The same tricks you used to defeat the last dozen bosses won't work here, and you have to be prepared for this battle.
With the proper strategies employed, S&M isn't so bad (pun intended), but after your first victory comes a second battle as the two merge into a two headed-dragon that will prove to be even more difficult than Saturos and Menardi's original forms. And to make matters worse, you had no time to heal after the last battle. That means you better have a healthy healer that can heal everyone at once, because otherwise you're gonna be starting all over.
Beating Saturos and Menardi and then Fusion Dragon is an endurance test, and with no chance to heal or save, it's one that can be very disappointing if not pulled off the first few times. But it is a good frustration, not a bad one. Fusion Dragon is beatable, and upon beating him you're rewarded with a (relatively) happy ending and the promise for another adventure. It's a battle that will test you, and an ending that will befit that test.
